Letters | ‘Weaving is medicine’

In the Navajo Times article, “Young weavers set out to revitalize Diné culture,” Holly James talks about Tasheena Littleben, 35, going back to weaving as she did when she was a little girl.

After COVID-19 hit, Littleben took advantage of it and started to take the means in weaving looms. Littleben found inspiration after returning to her hometown, Rock Point, Arizona, an old photo of her mother and Littleben as a baby in a cradle alongside her mother’s loom in the picture. As a mother, Littleben took this old photo and made it an idea, a lost desire to return to weaving. independently.

At the same time that I believe Tasheena Littleben going back to her cultural ways is inspiring to persuade, it is also necessary to hold and teach young weavers. According to Littleben, “Weaving is medicine.”

Today, young weavers have demonstrated that weaving is a form of being close to their culture — another way of staying true to Dinétah. More personal experience self-stories being put out there have been seen by young and all Diné people to inform that their culture is still ongoing in any form. Although Littleben does not say so directly, she assumes that young weavers can have down the skill related to their Diné culture.

I agree that young Diné should focus their attention on how little the Diné teachings have fallen in size because in my experience, elders are hard to communicate with, including Native cultural teachers who have trouble time teaching by others staying by the book confirms it.

This concludes that the young weavers Littleben mentions, Tyrell Descheny, Naiomi Glasses and Tyler Glasses Jr., with their skills in weaving looms. Tyrell was self-taught, and the help of his elementary teacher allowed him to take the first step in weaving his first loom and continue spreading his artwork on social media platforms. Naiomi is also a social media artist and has been taught by her grandmother and older brother, Tyler. Tyler, who has won ribbons for his weavings, showcases inspiration to influence his younger sister as he leads Naiomi to the introduction of weaving. Finally, each young weaver expresses their creativity in weaving to reach out to others with the encouraging and supportive hand of Littleben.

Chantel Perry
Tsaile, Ariz.